(Des Moines, IA - link to media release)
-- Secretary of State Chet Culver announced Jan. 25 that the State of
Iowa has finalized a $4.1 million award of a contract with a software
development firm hired to transform Iowa's voter registration system.

Money to fund the contract, awarded to Saber Consulting of Salem, Ore.,
comes mostly from federal dollars given to Iowa as part of a national
effort to reform election systems. The federal legislation, known as
the Help American Vote Act (HAVA), requires all states to develop
statewide voter registration systems so that voter data can be managed
more quickly and accurately.

Culver said a voter system evaluation committee that included county
election officials selected Saber's contract proposal over those
submitted by three other companies. The committee cited Saber's ability
to meet all technical specifications defined to meet Iowa-specific
needs and an implementation deadline of January 1, 2006. Bids from
competing companies ranged in costs from $4.1 million to $7.4 million.